You and I
by Aimii0
Summary: "You are just a doll full of drugs, but you are everything I value—even if I'd have to give my life, I will save you from this pain." he said desperately, praying she heard his words. Her bitten lips were trembling, a tear rolled down her pale cheek.
1. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

* * *

_"No matter how much we look at the past, we never go back. We can not change what has already happened."_

* * *

Sweat. Steps. Alarms. Noise. Screams.

"Catch him!"

A man was running on the narrow hallways. The alarms were deafing the patients' ears. Panick. The nurses, even the doctors, were trying every method to keep them calm. The sleeping pills were about to end, it was about time to start using injections.

He was still running, followed by the guards. They were at the 10th floor, so he had no escape. But he had no intention of escaping; he came here with a purpose and he was determinate to fulfill it. Despise the darkness, he managed to see the rooms' numbers. 201,202,203.. it was close. The room with number 213. He turned to around the corner and the room was in front of him. He opened the door, went in and closed the door behind him.

After he heard the guards leaving he turned the lights on. On a corner of this room with no windows, but only four, white walls; that's where _she _was. Standing there, on the cold floor, looking at her hands that were playing with nothing. As he approached, he observed that she looked like she was knitting. Her hands were too white for a normal human.

As soon as he stopped in front of her, she stopped moving her hands in the air. For a while, there was only the sound of the rain outside, no alarms, no screams. She raised her head slowly, his black orbits met her green eyes. There was no life in her eyes; no fear, no happiness, no wonders, not even indifference. There was _nothing._

He lost time. His arms wrapped around her small, skinny body. Her skin was cold as ice, though it was hot inside. He took off his black jacket and put it on her. His legs begun to run again, slower this time. Not because she was heavy, in fact, with or without her was the same, but because her life was the most important thing at the moment. It was obvious that he knew well the building. Instead of walking downstairs, he went upstairs. The guards weren't searching for him anymore and the alarms stopped, as well as the rain did. The screams of pain and fear were more powerful now, it was terrifying. Even for _him, _the atmosphere that surrounded them was like a nightmare.

_"Stop it, I beg you!"_

_"It hurts.. stop.. STOP IT!"_

She had no reaction. She wasn't tremblin—like he expected, if not because of the screams, at least because she was colder than ice—neither she showed any emotion. She was only staying in his arms, covered by his jacket.

He arrived in front of a metal door, the stairs ended. Holding her tighter, he kicked down the door with one leg. The rain stopped.

"Yo, little man." a blonde male greeted smirking. His left eye was covered by his long bangs. He decided to ignore the blonde and approached the helicopter behind him.

He carefully put her on the backseat and sat next to her. Only then he observed that she was already asleep, or maybe unconscious. A black-haired man, older than him, who seemed the pilot, looked at the two of them.

"Good job, Sasuke." told him the black-haired man.

The blonde from earlier also climbed in the helicopter and sat in front, next to the pilot. "Done." he said wiping the sweat from his forehead. The pilot started the helicopter and they left.

"Did you put the bombs?" asked the pilot.

"Three, two, _one_." the blonde counted.

As soon as his lips stopped, an unimaginable explosion formed under them. It even shook the helicopter, the sanatorium exploded. A flame appeared in the place of that building.

"I told you not to hurry. We could have exploded there, Deidara." the black-haired man said as he finally managed to control the helicopter again.

"Come on Itachi, I was way too excited! Besides, we didn't explode." Deidara said looking out the window at the moment the smoke filled the night sky.

The blonde male could smell the scent of blood from the smoke, that was his favorite part.

"So, where is this hottie gonna spend the night?" Deidara asked looking at the unconscious, pale girl.

"At Sasuke." Itachi said with a calm tone.

"I didn't agree with this." Sasuke answered mad, he hated when his brother ordered him around like this.

"It's only for tonight, maybe even tomorrow but it won't take long. I can't trust anyone with something of this importance." by 'something of this important', he meant the girl.

Sasuke didn't say anything anymore, he already knew that if Itachi decided something it was impossible to change his mind.

They soon arrived at Sasuke's estate. They stopped the helicopter in the center of the giant courtyard, right in front of the fountain. Meanwhile, the girl woke up. Sasuke took her in his arms again and the helicopter left.

"Master, shall I help you carry the young lady?" the butler asked as soon as Sasuke entered in the house.

He wanted to give the girl to him, but as soon as his butler's hands touched her, she screamed. Scared, the butler took off his hands. She wrapped her arms around his body, still screaming. Her voice was so weak she couldn't even scream properly, but she was obviously scared. She tried with all her strength to cling on Sasuke, but he could easily remove her. Still, something inside him made him unable to.

"I'll take care of her." Sasuke said as the butler waited for an answer.

As he carried her to a room upstairs, he looked at her one more time but couldn't see her face. He opened the door and entered in the big room. A large bed, two giant windows, a mirror on the other part of the room, it was obvious this room was for women.

He put her on the edge of the bed and she stayed there, without moving an inch. She was looking at the floor, his jacket was still on her shoulders. He turned the lights off and wanted to leave, but the maid was about to knock on the door so he bumped into her.

"Excuse me master, I wanted to ask if I should bring something to eat to the young lady."

He looked behind him at her again. He could clearly see her because the moonlight came in the room due to the glass wall. She was still there, her shoeless legs touching the cold hone.

"Yes. Also, change her clothes." he commanded and the maid entered in the room, closing the door behind her.

Sasuke made a few steps to his room which was a few rooms away from hers. He was tired.

Suddenly, he heard a weak scream again. It was her voice, she was screaming again. Her voice was so hoarse that Sasuke couldn't help but turn around. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the maid on the floor looking scared at the girl.

The maid explained to Sasuke everything without having him ask. "I wanted to change her clothes, but she suddenly started screaming. I think she is scared of me."

Sasuke looked at the girl on the bed. She was still screaming silently, it already took her a lot of energy to scream loud enough for him to hear and she was about to collapse if this is gonna continue. Pissed off, tired, he approached to her and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. Their faces were very close.

"Stop screaming." he said looking in her eyes.

Her eyes were still lifeless, emotionless, but the fact that she stopped screaming meant that she understood. Again, he was surprised by how cold her skin was. He took her body again and put her in bed, this time in a position she could sleep. He covered her with the blanket and left, for the last time.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"What do you mean?"

Itachi was standing in front of his brother with his usual look. His hands crossed in front of his chest; a sign he was angry. "We can't contact him."

Sasuke was resting his chin on his hands which's fingers crossed. He also had a calm look on his face which couldn't show his true emotions. "What are we going to do with her?"

"Just keep her a little while longer." the long-haired man looked at his brother which didn't seem impressed. "She means no harm, so with or without her is the same." he left the room and let Sasuke alone.

The man around the age of twoenty-four unleashed his fingers and got up, leaving his desk. He wanted to take his car's keys and leave the house but a knock on the door stopped him.

"Master?" a woman's voice called.

"Come in."

A sixty-years-old woman entered. "It's about the young lady master." seeing as he didn't answer, she continued. "She's screaming again, it's been already half an hour since she woke up and started screaming."

"Just let her be." he said and dropped the car keys. It was already past 1 am, he should go to sleep.

He passed by the room she was in and heard her hoarse screams again and the maid's voice trying to calm her. His room as about ten meters away from that room, so he should have a peaceful night. At least, as peaceful as a Uchiha could have.

**.**

He never dreamed. His nights passed by slowly, having only a black background. He usually went to bed at 2 am and woke up as soon as the dawn appeared. For him, sleep was only necessary to keep him alive and healthy, and he needed health for business.

His dark and always soundless dreams got disturbed by screams that night. Low but painful screams; the screams were slow and rare, but he heard each and every of them.

Finally, after being sick of this, Sasuke climbed off his bed and went in her room. He opened the door and saw the maid trying to control some wild animal on the bed. He approached and the woman backed off. He looked at her emotionless again. Swinging, hugging herself tightly, she was looking nowhere while trying to scream. After all these hours, she reached her limit. She couldn't scream any more.

He analyzed her; she had dark bangs under her emerald, emotionless eyes, her pale shade of pink hair's color made her look even sicker, her nose was small and in drawn, her lips were almost as white as her skin but as she bit them for a while now, they had traces of blood. Her skinny arms were hardly trying to hold herself, her legs together had the same size as one of his arms.

Pitiable.

"You can go to sleep, Chiyo." he said still looking at the girl as the woman left.

The lights were on but the bed's red curtains made him now unable to see her face. The dawn was close.

He turned the lights off and sat on the bed. His arm slowly put her head on the pillow next to his as she finally closed her mouth and gave up screaming. Their eyes were facing each other's, but she couldn't see him. His hand on her cheek made her eyes wide, but she was still unable to see him. It was not until she closed her eyes and her small chest begun moving up and down, showing she relaxed, that Sasuke closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

* * *

_"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life."_

* * *

His eyes hurt. A strong, hot light touched his cheeks, lips and closed eyes. Now being fully conscious and awake, Sasuke opened his eyes. His surprise wasn't small as he saw a girl's face not more than ten centimeters away from his. He allowed himself to take a few moments to recall what happened last night.

Everything was clear now, as he remembered everything. Before he took her hand off his waist and his hand off her pale cheek, Sasuke memorized the sweet scent she had. Her hair, her fingers, her lips, her skin; they all smelled like the cherry-blossom trees, the trees he used to play in as child.

After he climbed off the bed, he approached the window. The sun was shining brightly, Sasuke assumed it was already afternoon. His usual wake up hour passed a long ago. He went in his room, did his usual morning routine and went downstairs.

"Sasuke-sama." the maids bowed as he made his way to the kitchen.

"Sasuke-san, I searched information about the girl as Itachi-san asked. These are the only things I could find." Chiyo said as Sasuke sat at a giant table and begun eating his breakfast.

Without saying anything else, the old maid put on the table some papers which also had the girl's photo. He recognized her due to the strange hair color, or else, he would have never guessed the girl upstairs and the girl in this photo were the same person. The girl in the picture was looking more like a human; her lips were full and red,her cheeks had a beautiful shade of pink, her hair was dense and long, her eyes... her eyes were the total opposite. They were full of emotions; fear, hate, darkness. They held _this_ kind of feelings, but they were full of life.

"She is eighteen? This is the only thing you could find?" Sasuke asked as he took a sip from his coffee.

The woman nodded. "The other information about her must have been in the sanatorium, but since Deidara-san burnt it down.."

Chiyo wasn't any maid. She is one of Sasuke's business mates' relative and he assured him that she is skilled as a spy and will be a great help. He was right, it has been ten years since she works for Sasuke and she has had never disappointed him.

"I understand." he said as he finished his coffee and left the table.

Walking towards the door, Sasuke turned to Chiyo who waited for him to exit the mansion.

"You already know what you have to do when she wakes up." he said and left the house as the old woman bowed.

"Yo." a light voice greeted Sasuke as soon as the driver opened the car's door for him.

Inside his black, personal car was a certain blonde male.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He wasn't annoyed nor mad as he usually was when Naruto decided to make him a visit

"Missing you, honey." the blonde joked as his raven friend climbed in the car and the driver already left the masion.

"Cut it."

"Looks like you took your time sleeping, I was about to leave, ya know." he made a pause but Sasuke made no comment. "So, what are we doing today?" Naruto asked taking small glances in the car's mirror once in a while.

"We will have to go to the center and see." the black-eyed male answered looking out the window.

In less than an hour, they arrived at the center. The car stopped in front of a giant building having about twenty floors and a big 'E.D. Exchanging Company' sign. As the two males climbed off the car, Naruto adjusting his wide open, black jacket, a young woman around the age of twenty greeted them at the entrance, bowing politely.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke-san, Naruto-san." she said, her long, blonde pony-tail flipping as she raised her head.

"Morning Ino-chan." Naruto replied. Sasuke only nodded his head as they passed by her, entering the modern building.

The woman followed the two mans as the three of them entered in the elevator. Ino pushed a secret button and the elevator started going down. As she did so, Naruto could not help but look at her long, slim legs. Her uniform was the death of any man with hormones; a blue, office shirt with short sleeves and red tie along with a short skirt having the same color as the shirt. This might look alright, but the long, black, thin socks and high heels she always add were the drop that filled the glass.

Naruto coughed, trying to take his eyes off her sexy legs and begin a conversation.

"The boss is already here?" he asked the blonde.

She kept her back straight and didn't turn around. "I'm afraid he is not."

"Oh." Naruto said.

The elevator's door opened and they walked along a hallway. Ino entered in a room, not before the two men entered in another one.

As Sasuke and Naruto stepped in a room quite big and luxurious, a familiar male greeted them.

"Yo, mates." he said, raising his left hand as his right one was busy with a glass of fine wine.

As always, Sasuke didn't reply and took a seat on one of the few couches arranged in circle.

"Hey Deidara!" Naruto approached him and they shook hands in a weird way one they could do. Those two were the loudest around here.

"Why are you being late?" a red-head asked, taking a sip from his tea. He was sitting on the same couch as Deidara. He was looking at Sasuke with an icy look.

"Was there any need to come early?" the raven replied without even looking at him as a woman dressed in the same uniform as Ino approached and offered him a coffee.

Deidara was following her every move. She was almost as hot as Ino, but her way of walking and the look in her eyes was more reserved. Her hair tied in two small buns, her bust was smaller than Ino's and her legs were obviously stronger. Deidara wondered if the thing with long, thin socks was the woman's in this building plan to make them go crazy, as the brown-haired woman here was always wearing them. Her outfit was completed by a belt put around her waist.

The red-head didn't answer but gave Sasuke a cold glare.

"Now,now Sasori, don't get mad." Deidara said seeing his partner's look. "You know Sasuke is still young and doesn't know too well the rules around here."

"I am not mad."

Meanwhile, Naruto sat next to Sasuke on the couch, gladly accepting a cup of tea from their assistant.

"Tenten?" Sasori asked looking at the girl who was waiting patiently next to the window behind the couches.

"Yes." she stepped in front of the four couches, two of them being empty and other two being occupied by Sasuke and Naruto, Sasori and Deidara. "Konan-san told me to tell you that she and the boss already left for one important mission in Europe. They will spend there about three months. There is no mission that has to be accomplished until then, aside the one Sasuke-san is already doing."

"Really? That's just perfect!" Naruto said cheerful as he put his hands behind his head and allowed himself to fully enjoy the warmth of the couch. "I really needed a break."

"If this is how things are, I will take my leave now." Sasori said and put the empty cup aside. He took his coat and left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

Silence surrounded the four persons left in the room for a moment.

"Well, guess he was in a bad mood." Deidara said looking at Sasuke.

Those two never got along really well, Sasuke being the youngest along with Naruto and Sasori being the oldest. Their mentalities being so different and their concept of life was also different, but they had nothing personal with each more. Their pride was enormous which made things even more difficult.

"I expect we will not see Sasori-san any time soon." Tenten commented.

"Aa." Sasuke approved.

Just then, the door opened and two silhouettes made their way in the room.

"Long time no see, Tenten." a tall man with white skin greeted the woman first. He wanted to approach and kiss her cheek but she made no move, remaining like a statue next to the window.

"Welcome back, Kisame-san." she greeted with no special emotion, colder than she greeted the others.

"Cold as usual." he replied and approached the couches, sitting next to his partner.

"Brother." Sasuke stated.

"Yo, Itachi!" Deidara and Naruto said at the same time.

As the long-haired man accompanied by his partner sat on one of the two empty couches and received a cup of coffee from Tenten, he looked only at his brother which also looked at him waiting for news.

"I am not here to stay, I only came to take Sasuke." Itachi said putting the cup of coffee aside without even taking a sip.

"Secrets between siblings? No fair." Deidara joked, though he was curious too.

Sasuke got up and left the room with his brother, leaving two curious blondes behind.

The road to the car was silent, most of it accompanied by Ino who joined them until they reached the car.

"I will drive." Itachi told the driver, meaning he wanted the old man to get off.

He did so and the two brothers entered the car, Itachi driving and Sasuke right next to him. The first minute was silent, until Itachi started a conversation.

"I still couldn't come in touch with the client." he said.

"Does that mean I have to-"

"Yes." Itachi cut him off. "And I don't want to hear complains, Sasuke. You will take care of her for a longer amount of time than planned."

Sasuke frowned.

"And how long does that mean?"

"I don't know." Itachi continued driving slowly, he didn't plan to arrive back anytime soon.

"What happened to that bastard?" the raven-haired boy asked again, seeing Itachi choose a different road. He figured out his brother planned on going somewhere else.

As the car stopped, Itachi took the car's keys and smiled at his brother, which was something you didn't see everyday. "Let's eat something." he climbed off the car and Sasuke followed him.

The two entered in an elegant restaurant where a woman greeted and led them to a table.

"What shall it be?" she asked giving Itachi a flirt look.

"The usual." he said without even looking at her. She left and Itachi took out a packet of cigarettes, putting one between his lips. Sasuke watched him waiting to continue. "I searched for him all morning with Kisame."

"And?" Sasuke asked seeing Itachi made a pause, a stupid habit he had and Sasuke hated.

"It seems his relatives know nothing of him. He disappeared the night we went after _her_, or so they said."

"You do believe them?" Sasuke asked as the woman came back with a two plates of delicious food.

The two of them weren't that hungry but still took a bite from their food.

"I gave them three days to find and tell me news about him." Itachi took a sip from the glass of red wine, his favorite drink.

"And if they still don't want to tell you anything.."

"I think they are smart enough to figure out on their own what will happen, there was no need to tell them."

The time passed by as usual, the topic changed and the two of them left the restaurant after three hours. It was already night by the time they reached their house.

"Where is she?" Itachi asked as the maids took Sasuke's jacket and Itachi's coat.

"The room at the end of the hallway." Sasuke replied. "We already ate Maria." he said to the maid ready to lead them to the kitchen.

"Are you sure you ate properly Sasuke-san, Itachi-san?" she asked worried. "Now that autumn ends and winter comes, you have to eat more to have energy."

"Yes, we're fine. Thank you." Itachi replied kinder.

The woman as well as Chiyo was someone important for them. She has had always been like a mother for them. At least, since their real one died long ago.

"Itachi, what if he doesn't come back?" Sasuke asked seeing his brother wanted to go upstairs in his room.

"We will have to wait and see." he replied and left.

"Chiyo." Sasuke begun as he saw the woman approaching. She had a worried look on her face.

"Sasuke-san, the young lady is still sleeping."

Sasuke didn't react at this, he only nodded and went upstairs.

That night, he had a nightmare. He woke up from hour to hour sweating and sometimes screaming. How he wished the dawn would come..


	3. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

* * *

_As you tread along your sorrowful life, staring at your feet in a_ _world of shades of grey, you stumble upon a girl whose eyes are lit like fire. All of a sudden, the surrounding darkness fades away to colors and life... your heart fills with love and hope.._

* * *

Three days have passed since she came in his house. Three days have passed since she fell asleep.

"She is still sleeping?" Sasuke asked as Chiyo nodded.

Chiyo was the only maid who Sasuke allowed to get close to her. Yesterday he left early in the morning and came late at night.

"I do not think this is normal, master."

Neither he did. He turned around and, followed by Chiyo, headed to her room. Opening the door, the darkness made him unable to see her. Though, he still tried to look for her silhouette.

The women approached the giant windows and let the light come in as well as some fresh air.

Sasuke was in the door frame, looking at the bed with red sheets and curtains. He could vaguely see a silhouette on the bed. He approached and, as the maid left the room, raised the curtain.

There she was. Her eyes closed, her body uncovered, her fists clinching and, due to her long nails, her hands were full of blood. Her expression showed she was in pain. She was taking short and fast breaths. She wore one of his office shirts which was too big for her. Though she looked sick, she looked a little better than three days ago. Her skin color wasn't pure white anymore, she looked more normal. She was sweating.

"Chiyo, call the doctor. Now." he said without turning around.

While he waited for the doctor to come, he analyzed her. He saw she was searching for something on the bed, though she had her eyes closed. She patted the bed without stopping. He sat on the edge of the bed and catched her hand, making her stop. His and her fingers unleashed and their hands got glued. She was holding his hand tighter and tighter, he was wondering how could she hold his hand with such power when three days ago she couldn't even scream. His hand hurt. By holding his hand like this, he could feel the pain she was going through.

"This way, please." Sasuke heard Chiyo's voice coming from the hallway.

Fast steps were hurrying to the room he was in. He expected the personal medic he had to come, which was a woman only two years younger than Chiyo but instead, a young and beautiful woman came in. Her long, black-blue hair was flipping as she hurried to the other side of the bed, the patient was facing Sasuke so her back was facing the young medic.

"Sasuke-san, she is the new doctor, Hyuuga Hinata." Chiyo said as the other women put a hand on the patient's forehead.

She didn't even look at Sasuke, concentrating on the sick girl. She took the girl's bloody wrist and looked at her watch as a few seconds passed. Sasuke saw that the doctor looked at their hands, but she did not say anything. Better, Sasuke was not going to go anywhere anyway.

"Chiyo-san, bring me as many towels as you can and cold water. Fast." Hinata said as she let go of the girl's wrist.

While they waited for Chiyo to come back, Hinata took off her jacket, remaining only in a shirt with short sleeves. She tied her hair in a bun and he took a moment to look at her expression, she was serious, concentrated, with only one thing in mind; to help the girl.

Neither of them said a word. Sasuke turned his attention back to the girl on the bed and Hinata made the preparations needed. She didn't lose a second.

In about five minutes, Chiyo came back with everything she had to bring. She put them down, next to Hinata. Luckily, the girl changed her position so that she was now facing the ceiling. Her hand was still holding Sasuke's tight.

Hinata begun putting the towels in the water. First, she washed the blood from her hands. After this, she put a small towel on the girl's forehead, one around her free arm's wrist and one over her waist. Hinata handed a towel to Sasuke.

"Put this around her other wrist." she ordered without even looking at him.

As soon as Sasuke touched the towel, his hand froze. "This is cold as ice." he said, anger flowing out of his mouth.

Hinata looked at him for a single second and split out angry. "Her temperature is forty-five grades!"

Chiyo put a hand covering her open mouth, she couldn't believe what she just heard. The highest temperature a human's body can have is forty-two.

Without losing any other time being surprised, Sasuke put the towel on her wrist. After this, Hinata put an ointment on her chest. It smelled awful, but Sasuke did not care.

After an hour or so, Chiyo left. Only Hinata and Sasuke stayed in the room the whole day. The only thing Hinata was doing was chaning the towels and putting ointment on her chest once in a while.

An hour later, after Chiyo left, Hinata got up and took a seat next to the bed. She was sitting on the floor until then.

"How did she get in such a condition?" she asked, looking with worry at her. A second later, she raised her head and looked at Sasuke.

"I do not know."

Hinata made a pause. Of course this would sound as a lie, a stupid one, but Sasuke's face was telling the truth.

"What's her name?" Hinata asked as she took out some papers.

Sasuke thought for a moment. He knew that she didn't have a name, but he was sure she would not stay here long enough to need one. Seeing that he did not answer, she continued.

"My grandmother, Hyuuga Akiko was the previous medic, am I right?" she asked Sasuke. He nodded. His gaze wasn't indifferent, but.. blank. She couldn't read his expression, but she saw he was holding tight onto her hand. He didn't answer and she understood she was right. "She trained me as a medic and decided to resign. I already know everything about The Akatsuki Mafia." she stated with a serious look.

Sasuke glared at her.

"I do not trust you." he replied.

"I know." she made a pause but did not lose her confidence. "I will gain your trust as well as the others Mafia members."

She looked at the girl again.

"Her name is Sakura." Sasuke said as Sakura hold onto his hand tighter again. She was in so much pain, if she held any tighter onto his hand, his bones would break.

Hinata wrote down without commenting.

After another hour full of stress when Sakura's condition didn't get any better, Naruto appeared in the room too. Sasuke didn't pay him too much attention since, surprisingly, he didn't make too much noise.

Sasuke promised, or more like, that's what Naruto understood, that he will come to his place today and help him choose a gift for Ino. He planned to ask the hottie on a date and he couldn't accept no as an answer, so he had to ask properly. He came here to yell at his friend for not showing up, but when he entered in the room he couldn't tell anything.

The first thing he saw was a beautiful woman with a determinate expression. The next one was Sasuke with a worried expression and the last, his hand holding a fragile and sick girl's hand tight. He had no idea what was going on but, for the first time, he thought before saying something. He knew that Sasuke will explain everything to him later.

"Are you the new medic?" he asked the girl.

She got up from the seat and went in front of Naruto. She bowed her head.

"Yes. My name is Hyuuga Hinata."

"Don't be so formal Hinata-chan." he said, putting a hand on her chin as he raised her head.

Hinata knew who this person was, though she did not know his name. He was also a member of the Akatsuki Mafia, Sasuke's partner to be more precise. Her grandmother already told her that the members may look scary and be dangerous, but this person.. he was nothing like Sasuke. The glare Sasuke gave her earlier made her uneasy but the smile this person shows her now is so kind.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you."

Just then, the girl on the bed let out a painful, hoarse scream. She was moving her legs desperately and Hinata hurried to her side.

As soon as she opened her eyes, something inside Sasuke begun to burn. His heart started beating like crazy, his body was trembling and his eyes widened. She was so beautiful he got stunned.

Her eyes weren't lifeless anymore, she was looking at him. She was looking right at him with her big, bright-green eyes. From the very first moment, he knew she was conscious. Even though she regained her consciousness, she still hold onto his hand tight.

She tried to hold back her voice, but she was in so much pain.

Hinata took out an injection, wanting to make her fall asleep but Sakura's reaction stopped her.

"No.." Sakura whispered as her eyes widened. "No.. no.." she continued as she used all her strength to move, to go away from Hinata and the injection.

"Sakura-san, this will help you." she tried to say.

"No.. No!" she continued shaking her head as she got closer and closer to Sasuke until she finally wrapped her arms around his waist, her face buried into his chest.

Sasuke watched everything, he couldn't move. He was this shocked.

Naruto also watched the scene. He knew who this girl was but he never saw her. He and Hinata looked at Sasuke, waiting for orders. It was obvious he was the one who is gonna tell her what to do.

Sasuke didn't let go of her hand, he didn't wrap his arms around her, he didn't say anything.

"Put that thing away." he said.

"But she's in pain, she won't-"

"I said, PUT THAT THING AWAY!" he yelled so loud that Hinata backed off, almost falling but Naruto catched her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her trembling.

"Oi Sasuke.." Naruto tried to say.

"Get out of here." he said, looking at the girl holding tight onto him.

Hinata wanted to say something but Naruto stopped her. He took out the girl and let the two alone.

Sasuke could tell Sakura was in pain. Probably her stomach hurt.

When the girl heard no movement anymore, she released Sasuke and his hand and sat on the bed again. She was still hot, her body sweating a lot. Without any other words, he got up and changed the towels on her body.

"Who.. who are you?" she asked, almost whispering. Her body was too weak.

He did not answer until he changed all the towels. He sat down on the chair Hinata did and looked at her. She was looking at him, her eyes could barely stay open.

"I will tell you later, you have to sleep now."

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Sasuke observed that her stomach pain gone away.

As he sat by her side, protecting her, he could clearly hear Hinata and Naruto talking on the hallway.

"That mean.. she.." Naruto's trembling voice said.

"Her chances of surviving are few. I do not know who she is, but I can clearly tell her life was a hell. Her body is full of drugs and weak, her temperature is enormous, I have never seen such a case until now."

"What are the chances to survive over night?"

"One to a thousand."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. He refused to listen to this absurd conversation any longer. She regained her consciousness, she could talk, she looked better.. there was no way she is gonna die. He took her hand.

'_I will save you. No matter how many nights I won't sleep, no matter how hard it will be, no matter how many persons I have to destroy, I will save you from this pain.'_


	4. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

* * *

_L'amour n'est jamais plus fort que quant il sent qu'il va à ce qui le fera souffrir_

* * *

It was dark outside when Sasuke woke up, a small and fragile hand was squeezing his hand. Without losing another second, he raised his head which was resting on the edge of her bed up until now. He could only see her face due to the moon's light.

Her eyebrows narrowed while she was holding his hand tighter and tighter. She was sweating.

"No.." she whispered. "No, no, go away!" she screamed.

Sasuke held her hand tight. He didn't know what to do, he was desperate. How could he help her now?

"Please.. go away.." tears started rolling down her cheeks as her voice had a pleading tone.

"Wake up." he said putting his hands on her shoulders.

She was still laying on the bed. Seeing that she doesn't open her eyes, he called out her name.

"Sakura!"

She opened her eyes. Her chest was going up and down as she breathed hard. She got up from her position, Sasuke was still on the edge of the bed with his hands on her shoulders. While waiting for her to say something, he slowly took off his hands.

He was grateful. Her eyes weren't lifeless as the first time he saw her, a perfect sign she was conscious. She turned her head towards him, piercing his heart with her beautiful eyes.

"Sakura?" she asked. Her voice was low, she could only whisper.

He nodded. "Your name. You are Sakura."

He wondered what she was thinking about while she was looking blankly at him.

"Sakura.." she repeated with the same blank expression.

He didn't notice, being too captivate by how beautiful she was, that their fingers were touching.

The sunrise came, the room becoming brighter. Along with the sun Sasuke came back to reality. He saw again how skinny she was, he could clearly see her bones.

While he thought about this, a growl disturbed the silence. It was Sakura's stomach, asking for food.

Sakura was looking surprised at her flat stomach, putting a hand on it.

It was 5 am, the cooker and the maids should be already up. Sasuke nodded and left the room to search a maid. The mansion seemed giant as he hurried to find someone. Since she came here, she did not eat anything so she must be starving. He decided to go to the servants' house, right behind the Uchiha mansion. As soon as he arrived downstairs, he saw Chiyo.

"Chiyo, make some food please. Something fast and tasty."

She nodded and didn't say anything else, hurrying to the kitchen.

Sasuke came back to her room. She was on the same position on the bed, with her hands on her lap. She was looking out the giant window, probably watching the garden. He approached and sat on the edge of the bed. When she felt his presence, she turned her head towards him. They didn't say anything, there was no need to say something.

A knock on the door made Sasuke turn his head around.

"Come in."

Chiyo came in with a large plate of food. As she approached and placed the plate on Sakura's lap, Sasuke took a glance at the food she cooked. A large bowl of rice, a omlette and two fried fishes along with a cup of milk and a muffin.

"I'm glad the young lady recovered." she bowed her head and left the room.

Sakura was looking at the food on her lap amazed, but she didn't dare to touch anything.

"Eat." he said gently, putting the chopsticks on her hands.

She looked at him again and then at the plate of food, as if she wanted to make sure the food was for her. After Sasuke gave a nod, she smiled brightly and begun eating fast from each kind of food.

The past day and night which he sat beside her every second, he neither ate too much. He only drank some water once in a while and a small sandwich so that he would be able to stay awake when she'll wake up. Even though Hinata said the chances of surviving were small, he was still waiting for her to open her eyes again.

In a blink of eye, Sakura finished the food. Her belly was now bigger showing she was full. Sasuke took the plate and put it away.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Happy!"

He climbed off the bed and went in front of the window, opening it.

"See." she said and he barely heard her as he was now five meters away from her. The room was too big.

He understood what she wanted.

Sasuke approached her again and took her fragile body in his arms. She didn't move an inch and didn't left the small piece of garden she could see from her bed out of sight a second.

As soon as Sasuke stepped on the balcony, Sakura's eyes widen. Sasuke also looked at the garden, which was something he didn't do the past years.

The garden had at least three hundred flowers. The colors mixed, making a gorgeous picture. There were few alleys here and there. The wind begun to blow so Sasuke put Sakura back on the bed, afraid that she might catch a cold.

Chiyo came back at the right time.

"Change her clothes and clean her Chiyo." Sasuke ordered and left the room.

But he didn't went too far. He waited patiently right behind the door. After about thirty minutes, Chiyo came out the room and called Sasuke in. She too stepped inside the room to see if there was something else she could do.

As soon as Sasuke stepped inside and found Sakura staying on the edge of the bed, facing him, with her hands on her lap, something inside him was born.

He approached slow and careful and analyzed her. She had her hair tied in a bun with a white bow, two bangs falling over each side of her beautiful face. She was wearing a white dress that was a little below her knees with not too long nor too short sleeves. The dress was defying her small silhouette. She was also wearing a pair of white socks with two bows.

He also noticed that she didn't look as sick as she did days ago anymore. Her skin color was a beautiful shade of light-pink, yet she was still skinny.

Before he could stop staring at her, she suddenly smiled at him. He smiled back unconsciously and lend her his hand. She looked at it for a moment and then put her small hand onto it. He noticed her hand wasn't cold anymore.

When she tried to get up from the bed, she instantly fell on his arms. She couldn't walk being too skinny.

Sasuke turned his head and looked at Chiyo. She understood and left the room with a bow. He put her back on the bed and, without knowing when or how, he observed his hand was holding hers.

"The doctor will be here soon." he told her, sitting on his usual position on the edge of the bed. She was sitting up, resting her back against a big pillow.

She did not say anything being too captivated by the garden outside the window.

As he looked at their tangled hands, he realized holding hands with her was just as normal as breathing. Sasuke has always been the kind of person who didn't like to have too many acquaintances and he hated contact with any person.

A knock on the door made him turn his head around, Hinata stepped in and looked surprised at Sakura for a moment. The girl was still looking out the window, so she didn't see the doctor.

Hinata approached the other side of the bed and begun to check Sakura. When she touched Sakura's wrist to check her pulse, the girl begun to tremble. She got scared. He held her hand tighter and she turned around her head to look at him. He nodded and she felt safe.

Hinata took a while doing the check-up yo make sure everything was alright. She would ask Sasuke a few questions once in a while.

"Everything is alright."the medic said taking off her gloves. She smiled at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't see Hinata's smile, he was looking at Sakura and she at him. He relaxed, Sakura was out of danger.

"Yo!" Naruto appeared in the room while Sasuke helped Sakura sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh, Hinata, you're here." he smiled gently at the doctor who answered in the same way.

"Good morning Naruto." she said smiling. Afer greeting Naruto, she turned her head towards Sasuke with a serious expression. "Sasuke, I have to tell you that even if she is out of danger now, her body and mind are still weak. She can't understand very well words. I would recommend you to make her rest in bed as much as possible."

Sasuke listened carefully but even though she was in this kind of state, Sasuke had the faith she will recover someday.

Sakura raised her head and looked at Naruto. She begun to tremble again as she put her free hand on Sasuke's arm, getting closer to him.

Naruto figured out he scared her. "Hey, I'm not a bad man, ok?" he tried to say, still keeping a distance between her and him.

Sasuke put his hand on hers which was holding his shirt tightly. She looked at him and her body relaxed again. Hinata looked curious at them, she wondered what kind of relationship was between them but she knew she couldn't ask something like this.

Naruto approached. "I'm Naruto." he told Sakura, taking a small chair and putting it in front of her and Sasuke. He had a tense and worried look on his face which Sasuke observed.

Sakura only nodded, still holding tight onto Sasuke.

"Her name's Sakura." Sasuke said.

Naruto's expression changed even more. It was obvious something important happened. After all, Naruto wasn't a morning person yet, he came here at ten in the morning.

"Sasuke, how can you look like this in front of two girls?!" he tried to ask half-joking.

Sasuke took a glance at his clothes. He had the same suit as two days ago since he refused to leave Sakura's side, not even for a second. His black pants got crinkle as well as the white shirt with long sleeves he was wearing. His hair was a total mess and he had black circles around his eyes.

He knew Naruto wanted to talk with him privately but even so, he was right about his appearance. He looked at Hinata.

"Can you please stay with her?"

Hinata nodded. "Of course."

He took Sakura's hand off his arm gently and she let go slowly, as if she understood everything that was going on around her. He put his hand on Sakura's cheek for a moment before leaving the room with Naruto.

The two of them headed to Sasuke's room. There were already a pair of clothes ready on his bed but Sasuke decided to take a shower first.

"Sasuke." he heard Naruto saying with a strange tone behind him. He raised his eyebrow. "Do you realize what you're doing?"

The two men were facing each other. "Yes." Sasuke answered.

"No, you don't. If you would, you would stop right now." the blonde continued.

"It is none of your business."

"It is Sasuke! I am your partner and she is _our _mission."

"She is not a mission. Much less _ours._ She does not belong to you, nor anybody else."

"Safe for you." Naruto said with a serious look. "Do you think she belongs to you?" Sasuke did not answer. "I came here because Itachi told me to send you a message. He said he can't contact you." Sasuke's eyes widen but he didn't let Naruto see this. "He couldn't find the client yet. It seems that bastard ran away. Since he didn't get any information about him from his relatives he.."

Naruto looked away. He didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to say that Itachi killed about twenty innocent persons. Of course he as well as part of the gang and he as well killed people, but only criminals which deserved to be killed.

"He told me he left to search for him in Europe. He said he will be back in a month with or without him and he wants to watch after her until then."

"What will happen if he comes back without him?" Sasuke asked.

The week he spent with Sakura, even though they didn't talk, even though she slept all the time, it made him forget about the gang. It made him forget about the crimes, the blood and.. the consequences.

"They will kill her." Naruto forced himself to say. He knew that Sasuke needed to come back to reality.

And he did came back.

He remembered his Sakura wasn't his. He remembered she was his mission. He remembered that falling for her was a taboo. Wether their client comes back of no, she will be taken away from him. If he would choose to protect her and keep her for himself, the gang will go against him and probably kill them both.

But he didn't care.

"I will not allow this to happen."


	5. Chapter V

**Chapter V**

* * *

"_The warmth of her_ _hands...it was like a plank I clung to so I wouldn´t drown.."_

* * *

Five days have passed since Sakura woke up. In this short amount of time, Sasuke managed to know enough about Sakura's condition to know what she should eat, how long she should sleep, what she can understand and what she can't.

On the rare conversations they had, Sakura could only reply shortly. Sasuke would only ask questions that need this kind of answer so that she will not have to force herself. At first, her mind was blank but now she could understand everything she heard. If two people had a conversation, she could understand what it was about yet she couldn't talk too much. Or maybe she didn't want to, Sasuke was still not sure about this.

When it came to food and drinks, her menu was strict. Actually, she could eat anything, but in small amounts. Hinata explained to Sasuke that her stomach was still small and couldn't take too much. She had to drink lots of water so that the drugs from her body will disappear. Of course, it will take a while. but nothing matters as long as she will recover.

But there were weird things about Sakura. She could understand word, she could walk normally— she still needed Sasuke's help once in a while but other than this, normally— she could eat and drink yet, she had no idea what meant rain, birds or music.

It was late afternoon and the sun begun to set when Sakura found Sasuke's pick-up. It was something he found when he was a child and thought it was interesting, so he kept it. Sasuke didn't like music, but it was relaxing to listen to a good song on the pick-up once in a while. Sakura made him move the pick-up in the living room along with the CDs. He taught her how to use the pick-up and she spend a whole day listening to most of the CDs.

It was a rainy day of October when Sakura learned what music and rain is. She listened captivated by the magical sounds made by the rain and pick-up. Although she really liked the sound of raining falling on the mansion's roof, on the ground and on her beautiful flowers, she loved the music. The songs they were listening to didn't have vocals. There were only piano concerts.

She loved Beethoven the most. She often imagined how a piano looks like knowing few things Sasuke told her.

Sakura gained weight in the past days. Her bones weren't so visible anymore, her face looked much more lively— and Sasuke observed her cheeks were bigger than he imagined, which made her look younger— and her hands were almost the same as his. But even though her hands changed their appearance, they had the same warmth.

"I want to play the piano." she told him one day.

It was raining so they were spending their time in the living room, as they lately begun to.

The living room was warm and comfortable. The carpets and the curtains were red and a lot of painting filled the dark-yellow walls. There was a big fireplace in that room and Sasuke would usually stay on his couch in front of it while Sakura would always stay on the carpet. She loved to stay there enjoying the music while looking at the fire. Sasuke also loved to stay on his couch and watch over her. The curtains covered the windows most of time and so, the only source of light from the room was the fire. The livingroom was not too big nor too small.

"I understand." he said flipping a page from the book on his hands.

Sakura was wearing the same outfit most of time; the white dress and socks. Her hair was tied in a pony-tail with a white bow.

In less than two days a piano appeared in the living room. When Sakura saw it, her small heart started beating faster. It was different from what she imagined, but she thought it was perfect this way. The piano was sitting on a small stage on a corner of the living room. Sakura approached the piano and touched the claps with her long fingers. She sat down still captivated by the piano while Sasuke was sitting up, right behind her.

At first, she tried all the sounds few times until she memorized them. After this, she begun humming one of Beethoven's songs, but Sasuke couldn't figure out which one until she started playing the piano. It took her an about an hour to get used to this enormous thing called piano and memorize the place of each key.

Sasuke stood on his couch facing the fireplace which meant that he couldn't look at Sakura, but he could clearly hear her. He pretended to read a book and at first, he really tried to, but he always felt that reading books while Sakura was near was impossible. Reading books while she was so close was pointless. After she managed to see how the piano worksa which took her a few hours, Sakura was able to play quitw well Beethoven's Moonlight was impressed by what a good memory she has, she was he listened to her playing, his heart filled with a warm feeling. It is said that heaven is the place where you can find happiness and peace, the place everyone longes for. But how could heaven be better than this? Sasuke didn't know how heaven looked like, but if he would have to choose between the heaven full of angels and this dark livingroom full only of Sakura's presence and song, he would not hesistate a second, he would lock himself in this room with Sakura.

**XXX**

Days were passing by and the rain didn't stop. It wasn't raining hard, but Sakura could never go out and risk to catch a cold. Even so, she didn't have a problem staying inside as long as there was her piano. Her skills were getting better as days were passing by. For now she could only play the Moonlight's Sonata and Fur Elise. Sasuke's favorite was Moonlight's Sonata.

When she played the piano Sasuke would always stay in front of the fire with a book on his hands. Even though he was reading, Sakura knew he was listening. She was playing only for him. Ever since she came here, she learned a lot of new things. She knew some things, but other things were strange and new. She couldn't explain herself why some things were familiar while other were not. She also couldn't explain herself why she had this strange feeling. There was something on her chest that hurt her, a lot. Sakura didn't know what it was and at first she thought it was normal, but at a time when she cut her finger a little and it hurt, Sasuke told her that it was not normal. He told her that if something hurts her, she should tell him. The pain in her chest wasn't growing or disappearing. It was always there without moving or wavering. Even though it was a different kind of pain, Sakura decided to tell Sasuke about it.

It was night and the two of them were in bed, covered by the soft blanket. They were was close as always, their breaths melting in each other but the only parts of their body that were touching were their hands.

"Do you sleep?" she whispered.

He opened his eyes slowly. "Not really."

"It hurts." she said as Sasuke's eyes widen a bit. He didn't have the time to ask what hurts as she moved his hand and put in on the left side of her chest. "It's there but I can't see it."

Sakura saw his expression chainging. He looked like he was in pain, Sakura has never seen this expression on his face until now. She didn't like his expression. She didn't want to see him like this, now and never. She put a hand on his cheek and he kept his hand on her chest.

That night a storm started.

**XXX**

It was a beautiful morning. Sasuke and Sakura were eating the breakfast when Chiyo told them someone came to visit. They finished their breakfast fast and headed to the livingroom where the guests were waiting. By Chiyo's happy expression Sasuke already knew who came, so there was no need to worry.

"Hinata." Sakura said smiling as she approached her and the blonde man next to her.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto asked crossing his arms.

"If you're here for work, you can leave." Sasuke said approaching the blonde as the girls begun talking.

"Tsk, what's with this attitude Sasuke? That's how you treat your guests?" Sasuke ignored him. "Hey, don't ignore me! We came here just to visit ok?"

"Do we interfere in your plans, Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked.

Seeing Sakura's smile, Sasuke smiled too. "No, we were just going to take a walk."

Seeing his smile, Naruto backed off scared. It was the first time he saw Sasuke smiling and he wondered who this guy was and what he did to Sasuke.

On the other side, Sakura smiled brighter when she heard about the walk. After all those rainy days they will finally go out. This will be their second walk in the garden and Sakura couldn't wait to explore it all.

The garden was really big. Trees were standing tall on each side of the garden and sometimes next to benches. Everything was wet and the air was fresh, it was a perfect morning.

"Sakura is so lively." Hinata told the two men next to her as Sakura went a few steps ahead to look at some roses.

"Aa." Sasuke approved.

"Hinata." Naruto said with a serious tone. The medic nodded and went ahead taking Sakura with her.

"I knew you wouldn't visit me in this circumstances just because. What do you want to talk about?" Sasuke asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

Without losing another second, Naruto said straight. "Itachi contacted me." as soon as he heard this name, Sasuke clenched his fists. "Deidara will be visiting you tomorrow to see her."

The silence fell over them. Naruto saw Sasuke tensing next to him.

"If you want, I can come and talk with him." the blonde continued.

"No, it's fine." Sasuke answered fast.

Even though he knew it wasn't. There was no way it could be fine, but he would not drag Naruto onto this. He will fight this battle alone. For Sakura.. no, for their sake.


	6. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI**

* * *

_Happiness always has to be paid, always._

* * *

Naruto and Hinata left a while after, the four of them spent the morning together. Sakura thanked them for their visit and smiled as they left.

"Sasuke?" he turned his head towards Sakura.

"I'm alright." he answered without even her asking, he already knew what she wanted to ask.

She smiled and they walked back into the house, the good weather was all gone now. It was going to rain soon again.

The two of them went in their living room. The windows were open, Sakura was sitting next to them as she watched the rain. With her hands in her lap, she begun humming one of her piano songs, Sasuke couldn't figure which one but he liked it.

As soon as he sat on his armchair in front of the warm fire, Sasuke begun thinking seriously of what Naruto said about Deidara's coming.

Deidara; the reckless member of their mafia. No matter how many times Sasuke thought about the posibility that Itachi send Deidara to check the situation. If one of the mafia's member came to check the situation on this mission, there was a high possibility that if that person considered the girl as being dangerous, he would kill her. Sasuke already thought about the possibility that someone might come to check up on him, but he was sure that person would be Sasori. He was thoughtful and fair—he was the most suitable person to analyse the situation and make a decision, so why did Itachi sent Deidara? Maybe because he knew Sasori hated Sasuke and he would do anything to get rid of him. He would take this opportunity and get rid of Sasuke for real. Itachi would never let Sasori kill Sasuke—after all, they are brothers.

They have always gotten along pretty well, though Sasuke knew that if he ever dared to go against Itachi's word or betray him, he would not hesistate killing him. Even though he was not the most fitted one, Deidara was going to come tomorrow and Sasuke could do nothing to stop him. He had to confront him.

Turning his head around, Sasuke saw Sakura raising her hand and her index finger. She kept humming a song and a small, blue and wet bird approached and sat on her index finger. She turned her head towards Sasuke as she kept smiling and humming.

Sasuke smiled back, '_I will protect you, at all costs.'_

**XXX**

Sasuke woke up first as usual. He slowly let go of Sakura's hand and got off the bed, not before he made sure the blanket completly covered her body. It was heavily raining at seven o'clock in the morning and Sasuke cursed the skies for this. He thought that if talking with Deidara would not have worked he could have ran away with Sakura, but he could never get her out of house while it was raining like this. Her body was still weaker than a normal person's and a small cold could put her life in danger.

He changed his clothes and went downstairs on the big living room. On an usual morning, he would go on the red living room—their room, but not today. He had to wait today.

Chiyo brough him a cup of coffee, she put it down on the table and turned around. Sasuke was not in a good mood and she observed this, so she made as little noise and movement as possible.

As Sasuke waited, he thought about all kinds of possibilities and in each one of them, the two of them would be together. He didn't even dare thinking about the possibility of him dying and letting her alone on the filthy hands on those bastards neither about the possibility she would die and let him all alone, again.

After about twenty minutes, Sasuke felt a presence behind him. He stood up from his armchair and turned around only to face the last person he wanted to see yet the one he was waiting for. He kept his face motionless, calm, his hands crawled in his pockets.

"Fan of rainy mornings?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"Not really." Sasuke answered.

The blonde man approached Sasuke and lend him his hand, he hardly took and shake it. Deidara sat down in front of Sasuke, across the table on another armchair. Chiyo immediately came with another cup of coffee. She placed it on the small table, thankful for not having to deal with the blonde gang member. She quickly disappeared letting the two men talk privately.

"You always wake up so early?" Deidara asked leaning against the armchair in a relaxed position.

"From time to time." Sasuke answered.

Deidara opened his eyes and looked straight into Sasuke's, another smirk appearing on his face. "But you had to wake up today to wait for me" Sasuke's mind snapped, he didn't expect this. "So I'm right, that Naruto always opens his loud mouth." he said laughing.

While Sasuke wondered how could he have read him so easily, he wondered what he sould say next. He had to change the topic or Naruto would get in trouble.

"Let's get right to the point, I hate wasting my time here as much as you do." his serious look came back, this man was seriously strange. "Where's she?"

Sasuke's eyebrows narrowed, his gaze fixing Deidara.

"Sasuke?" a voice called from behind.

Sasuke fast turned around his head, his eyes stopping on her fragile figure. She was dressed in her usual white dress with short sleeves, her hair tied in a bun, her bare feet touching the cold hone. His heart started beating like crazy, she shouldn't be here. Not here, not _now._

"Oh." Deidara said looking at her from head to toe.

Sakura was standing fifteen meters away looking at Sasuke, she was waiting.

"Come here." he said, getting a grip of himself. All he had to do now was act—but he had to do it good.

Sakura slowly approached and sat next to Sasuke's armchair. She was looking at him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, waiting for Deidara's response. While the blond analysed the girl, Sasuke tried to keep his anger under control. He was disgusted as he already knew what kind of thoughts were crushing Deidara's insane mind. He put a leg above another as he tried to lean his back against the armchair, his body was tense but he had to make sure he looked calm.

"I was right when I said she's a beauty." he answered. "Uhm, she seems in good shape." Sasuke could barely control himself not to punch him.

He got up and crawled his hands in his pockets. He looked out the window next to him, his back facing the two of them. Sasuke took the moment and held Sakura's hand for a moment, he observed she trembled the whole time.

"You know brat, even I was once in love." Deidara begun. "There's no way you can hide it from me." he said turning around, Sasuke already let go of Sakura's hand. Sasuke didn't say anything, he was way too surprised. He had no idea Deidara had this kind of hidden personality, this or he had no idea that he could be read so easily. "You know, I came here to set this place on fire." that moment Sasuke couldn't keep calm anymore, he jumped on his feet and tried to grab Deidara's neck, but the blond catched his arm and twisted it so that he could not move an inch. "Listen carefully brat or else I'll really make this place burn down."

Sakura was scared and she wanted to come and help Sasuke, but his glare made her step back.

"I really, really wanted to see what kind of giant fire would make this place, but this damn rain ruined my plans. This girl.." he said looking at her for a moment. "You better fight for her, you hear me brat?!" his tone changed, he was angry. "You have no idea what's waiting for you so you better stop being a kid and protect her." he let go of Sasuke and started heading towards the door, but he stopped one last time. "Don't do anything you'll regret later." and he was gone.

Sasuke was more than confused, he barely noticed Sakura embracing his waist as she buried her face in his face. He thought Deidara was the worst out of them all, but maybe, he was the smallest threat.


End file.
